AND I AM A NERVOUS WRECK. My bp is high and I feel like I can't breath and I haven't even left the house yet. I am thinking about skipping the whole thing. Life is no longer fun. I will panic if I have anything around my face. I am going to lose my mind or have a heart attack. I want to just walk out into the woods and not come back. I am so sick in the stomach right now. Sore throat. Congested Ear infection. Not good.

(01-16-2014 06:20 PM)broskyf Wrote: AND I AM A NERVOUS WRECK. My bp is high and I feel like I can't breath and I haven't even left the house yet. I am thinking about skipping the whole thing. Life is no longer fun. I will panic if I have anything around my face. I am going to lose my mind or have a heart attack. I want to just walk out into the woods and not come back. I am so sick in the stomach right now. Sore throat. Congested Ear infection. Not good.

Ask for a nasal mask or nasal pillows. If you don't get therapy, you won't have a life to be fun. You can have organ damage (you only have one heart and liver) or worse, you can wake up dead. It really isn't as bad as you are imagining. Tell them you don't want a ffm. They will be monitoring your heart just to ease your anxiety a little bit. Please let us know how your titration goes when you get back home. Oh, and think about the children and family in your life and how much they love you and that may help with your anxiety.

Frank: Your anxiety level is high. Understandable; but, unnecessary.
Sleep study titration is very safe. You have only this one night to go to get your xPAP equipment.
You can do this.

INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.

It can indeed be very stressful finding out that you have OSA and have to use a CPAP. And yes, some people have real problems tolerating the mask at the beginning. And the idea of something on your face while you're sleeping is not very comforting at the start of this process.

But: It does get better. For most people, it takes a few weeks to a few months to really get comfortable sleeping with the mask on their nose. But whatever problems you have when you start your PAP therapy, know that there are plenty of people around here who have worked their way through the same kind of issues that you're facing.

For example, you write:

Quote:AND I AM A NERVOUS WRECK. My bp is high and I feel like I can't breath and I haven't even left the house yet. I am thinking about skipping the whole thing. Life is no longer fun. I will panic if I have anything around my face. I am going to lose my mind or have a heart attack. I want to just walk out into the woods and not come back. I am so sick in the stomach right now.

Anxiety issues are not uncommon when starting PAP. But claustrophobia reactions to a mask being put on your nose can be overcome with some time and effort. Once you get through your titration study, you may need to start with baby steps: wearing the mask during the daytime when you are reading or watching tv helps many people get over the anxiety caused by the thought of having something covering their nose.

And finally learning something about OSA, CPAP, and this adventure that you're about to (unwillingly) start can also help take the edge off of some of the anxiety.

Good morning broskyf. Glad you have completed your titration and it is now behind you. CPAP will help you and you can get through it. It will make a difference in your health and how you feel. There is a learning curve but you can learn so much from this forum. We have all been where you are at. Keep reading and asking questions. We are all here pulling for you.

INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.